Public Company Advisory: SEC Snapshots - Second Quarter 2026

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The members of Maynard Nexsen’s Public Company Advisory Practice counsel public companies and companies aiming to become public on the full range of matters shaping their governance and operation in the public markets. As a continued service to our clients, we provide a quarterly summary of important developments affecting public companies. Top trending items for the second quarter of 2026 are listed below (in chronological order and with embedded links to the source materials):

• The Department of Labor issued guidance declaring that proxy advisors may be investment advice fiduciaries under ERISA (April 1, 2026)
• State Street published its 2026 proxy voting policies (April 1, 2026)
• JP Morgan published its annual investment stewardship report (April 1, 2026)
• The Center for Audit Quality issued a report on the views of audit committee members (April 1, 2026)
• The SEC Division of Enforcement released a report on enforcement results for 2025 (April 7, 2026)
• The SEC approved Nasdaq’s proposal to expand trading hours (April 10, 2026)
• The National Association of Corporate Directors (NACD) published a handbook on board cyber-risk oversight (April 15, 2026)
• KPMG published a report on AI governance for boards (April 15, 2026)
• The SEC Office of Mergers and Acquisitions issued an exemptive order to shorten the time period during which tender offers for equity securities by issuers and certain third-party bidders must remain open from 20 to 10 business days subject to certain conditions (April 16, 2026)
• ISS published an analysis of proxy season trends (April 16, 2026)
• The SEC posted notice of filing and immediate effectiveness of a proposed NYSE rule change to enable trading of securities on the exchange in tokenized form (April 17, 2026)
• The Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility (ICCR) created a web page that lists exempt solicitations for expressing views on shareholder proposals (April 17, 2026)
• Georgeson published its annual global activism report (April 17, 2026) (free registration required)
• Nasdaq proposed rules to modify the initial listing requirements for special acquisition companies (SPACs) (April 22, 2026)
• The PCAOB published a report on 2025 Conversations with Audit Committee Chairs (April 27, 2026)
• Computershare announced it is offering services for tokenized shares for US issuers (April 29, 2026)
• NYSE Texas filed a proposed rule amendment to enable the trading of securities on the Exchange in tokenized form (April 30, 2026)
• Ideagen published a white paper on SEC comment letter trends (April 30, 2026) (free registration required)
• The SEC Division of Investment Management issued a statement on pooled employer plans and the SEC Division of Corporation Finance issued related CFIs 118.01 and 126.45 (May 4, 2026)
• Broadridge published its 2026 annual meeting handbook (May 4, 2026)
• The SEC released a rule proposal to allow for optional semiannual reporting by public companies (May 5, 2026)
• The SEC charged 21 individuals for their alleged involvement in an insider trading scheme that used information misappropriated from multiple global law firms to trade in securities of multiple public companies (May 6, 2026)
• Glass Lewis published a study on shareholder proposal trends (May 12, 2026)
• The SEC rescinded its “neither admit nor deny” policy in settlements of enforcement actions (May 18, 2026)
• The SEC proposed amendments to its rules and forms governing registered offerings (May 19, 2026)
• The SEC proposed amendments to its rules governing the public company filer status and reporting framework (May 19, 2026)
• PwC published a report on observations from voluntary climate risk reports submitted to the California Air Resources Board (May 19, 2026)
• The SEC issued an exemptive order granting additional directors and officers of certain foreign private issuers an exemption from the filing requirements of Section 16(a) of the Exchange Act (May 20, 2026)
• The SEC settled an administrative proceeding against Foot Locker for separation agreements that discouraged whistleblowing by senior staff in contravention of SEC Rule 21F-17 (May 22, 2026)
• The Society for Corporate Governance in partnership with Nasdaq Governance Solutions published a survey on AI in the boardroom (May 23, 2026) (free registration required)
• SEC Chair Atkins called for public comments on reforming the IPO process (May 26, 2026)
• The SEC approved a proposed rule change by the National Securities Clearing Corporation (NSCC) that establishes an operating and clearing schedule for securities trading 24 hours a day, five days a week (May 27, 2026)
• Exxon Mobil Corp. shareholders approved the company’s redomestication from New Jersey to Texas (May 27, 2026)
• The Department of Justice charged a Google software engineer with insider trading under the Commodity Exchange Act in connection with his trades on the Polymarket prediction markets platform (May 27, 2026)
• The SEC proposed rescission of climate-related disclosure rules (May 29, 2026)
• The SEC published a draft strategic plan for public comment (June 2, 2026)
• The SEC published a notice of immediate effectiveness for a Nasdaq rule change on delistings (June 3, 2026)
• PwC published a report on recent SEC comment letter trends (June 3, 2026)
• The PCAOB proposed amendments to the auditor quality control standard (June 9, 2026)
• The Governor of Delaware signed amendments to the Delaware General Corporation Law into law (June 10, 2026)
• The CFTC issued a rule proposal that would exert exclusive authority over the prediction markets and prohibit certain types of event contracts as being contrary to the public interest (June 10, 2026)
• SpaceX priced the largest IPO in history (June 11, 2026)
• The SEC and CFTC jointly solicited comments on the regulation of security-based swaps and swap markets (June 18, 2026)
• The SEC posted a notice of filing of an amended proposed Nasdaq rule change to adopt a new $5 million minimum market cap requirement for continued listing (June 22, 2026)
• The SEC Division of Corporation Finance issued a new Securities Act CFI on listing rights on a national securities exchange in connection with a business combination transaction (June 23, 2026)
• The PCAOB published a request for comment on its standard-setting and research agendas (June 23, 2026)
• The California Air Resources Board (CARB) announced that it will defer the reporting deadline for entities to report Scope 1 and Scope 2 greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions to November 10, 2026 (June 24, 2026)
• Dell Technologies shareholders approved the company’s redomestication from Delaware to Texas (June 25, 2026)
• The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the President has the authority to remove independent commissioners with or without cause (June 29, 2026)
• The SEC Office of Mergers and Acquisitions issued an exemptive order to permit a tender or exchange offer for non-convertible debt securities to remain open for a minimum period of five business days subject to certain conditions (June 30, 2026)

For additional information about any of the above developments, or to discuss any questions that you may have, please contact a member of Maynard Nexsen’s Public Company Advisory Group.

This Client Alert is for information purposes only and should not be construed as legal advice. The information in this Client Alert is not intended to create and does not create an attorney-client relationship.